Ronda Rousey

Birthday: 1 February 1987, Riverside, California, USA

Birth Name: Ronda Jean Rousey

Height: 170 cm

Ronda Rousey burst onto the women's MMA scene in August of 2010. Born in Riverside County, California on February 1, 1987 to parents Ron Rousey and AnnMaria DeMars, little Ronda was born with an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck that damaged her vocal cords. She didn't speak coherently until the age of six. Ronda was a self-professed...
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Ronda Rousey burst onto the women's MMA scene in August of 2010. Born in Riverside County, California on February 1, 1987 to parents Ron Rousey and AnnMaria DeMars, little Ronda was born with an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck that damaged her vocal cords. She didn't speak coherently until the age of six. Ronda was a self-professed tomboy and swam from the ages of 6 to 10. She competed on the Jr. Olympic swim team where she placed in the state level.Because of her mother, a 7th degree black belt and 1984 World Judo Champion, Ronda took up the sport. She had a hard time socializing with other kids and found that Judo gave her confidence. She holds a 4th degree black belt in the martial art.Ronda's Judo career is a storied one. At 17 she became the youngest judoka in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. That same year she won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, and in 2006 she became the first U.S. female in almost 10 years to win an A-Level tournament going 5-0 to clench the gold at the World Cup in Great Britain. At 19 she won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. She is the first U.S. athlete to win two Junior World Medals. In 2007 she added a silver at the World Judo Championships and a gold at the Pan American Games. The pinnacle of her Judo career was a bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Rousey became the first American to win an Olympic medal in women's Judo since it became an Olympic sport in 1992.After medaling in the Olympics, Ronda's career hit a dead end. She did some bartending to make ends meet and tried to find a better paying job, but it was tough finding anyone that needed her particular skill set. Throwing people down and putting them in armbars aren't really something you can put on a resume. By chance Ronda caught the Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie fight on television and things changed.She made her mixed martial arts debut as an amateur in 2010. Since then she has never lost a fight, winning the majority in the first round by armbar submission. Ronda took it upon herself to chase after and demand attention so that the UFC could no longer ignore women fighters. UFC President Dana White had publicly stated that women would never be allowed to fight in the UFC, but on February 23, 2013, Ronda did just that. She won the fight against Liz Carmouche in the first round with her signature armbar and became the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.In 2014, Ronda appeared in her first motion picture - The Expendables 3 (2014). Other projects are Furious Seven (2015) and The Athena Project as well as Entourage (2015). Show less «

[how her mom trained her to fight] Her attack line was, "Always be ready!" Sometimes she would wake ...Show more »

[how her mom trained her to fight] Her attack line was, "Always be ready!" Sometimes she would wake me up in the morning and do what her coach used to do to her back in the day which was wake her up in the morning and be like, "You have to do an armbar right now! Always be ready!" She would jump on me and I'd have to do an armbar straight out of a sleep. Show less «

[on her fight with a group of men at a movie theater while watching Juno (2007)] She [girl sitting b...Show more »

[on her fight with a group of men at a movie theater while watching Juno (2007)] She [girl sitting behind her] was knocking me in the head with her boot. They were that group of people that are just rude and loud throughout the whole movie. So I took her boot off and threw it after the movie, and I told her to go get some manners. And her boyfriend didn't like that, and her boyfriend's friends didn't like that. And so they headed me off in the aisle and told me to go get the boot. They wouldn't let me leave and they pushed me, and they wouldn't let me leave. I was technically in a "kidnap situation" . . . I learned this from my lawyer . . . Yeah, I was "fearing for my life" so I had to defend myself and I defended myself very well . . . and so they sued me. Show less «

There have always been people who have written me off. They're not going away. I use that to motivat...Show more »

There have always been people who have written me off. They're not going away. I use that to motivate me. I'm driven to show them just how wrong they are. Show less «

You call me arrogant? I say it's an accurate self-assessment because I work my ass off to be as good...Show more »

You call me arrogant? I say it's an accurate self-assessment because I work my ass off to be as good as I am at what I do and I'm proud of myself. Show less «

I have this one term for the kind of woman that my mother raised me to not be, and I call it a Do-No...Show more »

I have this one term for the kind of woman that my mother raised me to not be, and I call it a Do-Nothing Bitch... a DNB. The kind of chick that just tries to be pretty and be taken cared of by somebody else. Show less «

[on Gina Carano] I love Gina. I think she's awesome. I wouldn't be a fighter if it wasn't for her. I...Show more »

[on Gina Carano] I love Gina. I think she's awesome. I wouldn't be a fighter if it wasn't for her. I wouldn't have thought that women's MMA would've offered a real career, that I could support myself off of it, if it wasn't for her. I've met her before and she's just the biggest sweetheart ever. I wish nothing but the best for her. Show less «

People just live such pampered and soft lives now that sometimes we need to get a little bit hurt an...Show more »

People just live such pampered and soft lives now that sometimes we need to get a little bit hurt and get a little bit in a fight to be reminded that we're still humans, that we're not living in bubble wrap. Show less «

[on what she liked about the book "Athena Project"] It's very realistic. It's not gimmicky or "Charl...Show more »

[on what she liked about the book "Athena Project"] It's very realistic. It's not gimmicky or "Charlie's Angels"-y. It's all based on truth and that's what I liked the most about it. It's strong women in a real environment. These women actually exist in real life. It's not made up. Show less «

I love fighting because I get to have a big battle every couple of months to make up for the little ...Show more »

I love fighting because I get to have a big battle every couple of months to make up for the little battles I had to forfeit everyday. Show less «

Sometimes I'm a much more energetic and embellished version of myself, but sometimes I do things jus...Show more »

Sometimes I'm a much more energetic and embellished version of myself, but sometimes I do things just for a little extra flair. I'm doing what I need to do for the lifestyle that I want, and I feel like I'm putting enough positive things out in the world. And that's the best that I can do. Show less «

No one is ever going to give you anything of value. You have to work for it, sweat for it, fight for...Show more »

No one is ever going to give you anything of value. You have to work for it, sweat for it, fight for it. But there is far greater value in accomplishments you earn than in accolades that are merely given to you. When you earn something, you never have to worry about justifying that you truly deserve it. Show less «

[on how she celebrates after a win] Buffalo wings. I eat so many buffalo wings it is ridiculous. If ...Show more »

[on how she celebrates after a win] Buffalo wings. I eat so many buffalo wings it is ridiculous. If I'm eating wings, I get a plate of like, 80 wings in front of me, and I have to get through at least 25 before anyone can get close, and they have to move a little bit just in case I don't eat them too, because I'm really disciplined coming up to my fight, and that's like my one big blow-out. Show less «

There were times when I knew I was in a terrible situation, but I also knew it wouldn't last forever...Show more »

There were times when I knew I was in a terrible situation, but I also knew it wouldn't last forever. Those are the moments when you have to remind yourself that this experience is a defining moment in your life, but you are not defined by it. Show less «

Once you've conquered the worst things that could happen, there is no need to fear the unknown. You ...Show more »

Once you've conquered the worst things that could happen, there is no need to fear the unknown. You are fearless. Show less «

It is not about just winning the round. It is not just about winning the fight. It is about winning ...Show more »

It is not about just winning the round. It is not just about winning the fight. It is about winning every single second of your life. Show less «

[on how her life has changed since signing a UFC contract] Just a couple of months ago I held three ...Show more »

[on how her life has changed since signing a UFC contract] Just a couple of months ago I held three jobs. I had no air-conditioning in my car. I was like, living off the Costco diet. We called it the bomb shelter diet, actually, because we would just go to Costco and buy everything that wouldn't expire. Show less «

The knowledge that everything good can be taken away at any second is what makes me work so hard.

The knowledge that everything good can be taken away at any second is what makes me work so hard.

People want to project their own insecurities on others, but I refuse to allow them to put them on m...Show more »

People want to project their own insecurities on others, but I refuse to allow them to put them on me. Just because you don't think that you could be the best in the world doesn't mean that I shouldn't have the confidence to believe I can do anything. Show less «

I was really shy and quiet. I was never very popular in school. I was made fun of for being muscular...Show more »

I was really shy and quiet. I was never very popular in school. I was made fun of for being muscular a lot so I always wore really baggy clothes . . . just very introverted. I had like two lives. I would go to school and be this introverted loser kid that no one really knew, and then I'd go out on the weekends to these Judo tournaments and everyone's like, "Oh, Ronda! Ronda! Hey! Whazzup?" You know what I mean? Like I kinda had this separate life where I was cool and this other life where I was a loser. Show less «

[on trash talking] If something's funny or witty and true then I'm gonna say it because . . . why no...Show more »

[on trash talking] If something's funny or witty and true then I'm gonna say it because . . . why not? Show less «

I used to make up super heroes and stuff in my head. I loved Dragon Ball Z. That was one of my favor...Show more »

I used to make up super heroes and stuff in my head. I loved Dragon Ball Z. That was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid because all the super heroes had to work and train really hard to be more even super and beat the next guy. And I invented in my head, a girl saying that I would fight and be with them and stuff. When I was little I had to make up and imagine up these girl role models that weren't there. Show less «

I saw her [her younger sister] walking around the house in those Skechers and I was like, "What are ...Show more »

I saw her [her younger sister] walking around the house in those Skechers and I was like, "What are you doing wearing porno shoes? Take those off!". And I just realized, "What is going on with this world right now? Why is this girl [Kim Kardashian West] even associated with footwear?". I don't understand. She obviously didn't spend that much time on her feet. Show less «

No drug or amount of money or favoritism can ever give you belief in yourself.

No drug or amount of money or favoritism can ever give you belief in yourself.

He [Paul Walker] was a joy to be around. You could tell that everybody was just... they weren't all ...Show more »

He [Paul Walker] was a joy to be around. You could tell that everybody was just... they weren't all there for themselves. They were there for each other. I was really happy that I got to be one of the last people to witness that. Show less «

[on The Ultimate Fighter (2005)] We were not treated like the respected athletes and coaches that we...Show more »

[on The Ultimate Fighter (2005)] We were not treated like the respected athletes and coaches that we were brought on there to be. All of us left with a really sour taste in our mouths. The gym is my safe place. It's where I retain my sanity, and they really bastardized that place for us. Show less «

[on the "Slaughterhouse in a Blouse" reference of her in the song "Shady XV"] Getting rapped about b...Show more »

[on the "Slaughterhouse in a Blouse" reference of her in the song "Shady XV"] Getting rapped about by Eminem is like getting armbarred by me. It might not be so pleasant if you're on the other side of it, but it's so skillfully done you have to be honored. Show less «

To get anything of real value, you have to fight for it.

To get anything of real value, you have to fight for it.

[on her heated rivalry with Miesha Tate] As a fighter I completely respect Miesha. I think that she'...Show more »

[on her heated rivalry with Miesha Tate] As a fighter I completely respect Miesha. I think that she's an amazing fighter and she's a tough chick, and she definitely has my respect. She just doesn't have my affection. Show less «

There is nothing in my life that I would go back and change, even the darkest moments. All the succe...Show more »

There is nothing in my life that I would go back and change, even the darkest moments. All the successes and greatest joys in my life are a result of the absolute worst things. Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise. Show less «

[on men being intimidated by her] Some guys are, but I feel like that just saves me time. If a guy i...Show more »

[on men being intimidated by her] Some guys are, but I feel like that just saves me time. If a guy is easily intimidated by a strong woman then that's obviously not the kind of man that I would be interested in anyway. Show less «

If there's chaos, it's good. And I need to put myself in situations where people are going to doubt ...Show more »

If there's chaos, it's good. And I need to put myself in situations where people are going to doubt me because I don't ever want to be in that lose lose situation where if you win, it's like, "Oh, of course you won," and if you lose, it's the end of the world. I want everyone to tell me that I can't do it because that motivates me more than anything. Show less «

There's not a single muscle on my body that isn't for a purpose because I'm not a Do-Nothing Bitch. ...Show more »

There's not a single muscle on my body that isn't for a purpose because I'm not a Do-Nothing Bitch. It's not very eloquently said, but it's to the point. And maybe that's just what I am. I'm not that eloquent, but I'm to the point. Show less «

Bubble wrapping society is no way to make people more peaceful. MMA is the safest way for people to ...Show more »

Bubble wrapping society is no way to make people more peaceful. MMA is the safest way for people to really get that natural aggression and frustration out. Show less «

To be the best, you have to be constantly challenging yourself, raising the bar, pushing the limits ...Show more »

To be the best, you have to be constantly challenging yourself, raising the bar, pushing the limits of what you can do. Don't stand still, leap forward. Show less «

[on filming The Expendables 3 (2014)] Since it was just me and a bunch of dudes all the time, I thou...Show more »

[on filming The Expendables 3 (2014)] Since it was just me and a bunch of dudes all the time, I thought the best way to break all the sexual tension that there would be was . . . I would have to out-innuendo and out-do all of them. So I was number one with all the innuendo all the time, and I made everyone comfortable doing it. Show less «

[on a possible UFC super fight with Gina Carano] I would love that. I've always said that. I never w...Show more »

[on a possible UFC super fight with Gina Carano] I would love that. I've always said that. I never would've thought women's MMA existed if I hadn't seen her fight. I never knew there was such a thing until her. To fight her would be a real honor and I think a real milestone for the sport. Show less «

Know when to explode and know when to relax - that's the only way to survive.

Know when to explode and know when to relax - that's the only way to survive.

I want to be a perfect fighter, and that's one of those unattainable goals because you will never be...Show more »

I want to be a perfect fighter, and that's one of those unattainable goals because you will never be perfect. But I can always be closer to perfect. Show less «

No matter how much you try or what you say, people aren't going to fully understand you or where you...Show more »

No matter how much you try or what you say, people aren't going to fully understand you or where you're coming from. You just have to get used to being misunderstood. Show less «

If you saw the Batman where he had to make Aaron Eckhart look like the good guy and then himself loo...Show more »

If you saw the Batman where he had to make Aaron Eckhart look like the good guy and then himself look like the bad guy because that's what Gotham City needed . . . The women's division is Gotham City. And I am Batman. Show less «

[her biggest inspiration] My mom is like an X-Men. She's unbelievable. She got a perfect score on th...Show more »

[her biggest inspiration] My mom is like an X-Men. She's unbelievable. She got a perfect score on the SATs at 16, graduated college at 19. She won the world championships in Judo as a single mother, working as an engineer, and getting her PhD . . . all at the same time. And then after my dad died she took a business from scratch and turned it into a multi-million-dollar company. She's absolutely amazing. Every single day I just try to be a little more like her because if I was doing that, I know I'm improving as a person. Show less «

I couldn't even speak coherent English until I was six. I didn't really have any friends. Nobody lik...Show more »

I couldn't even speak coherent English until I was six. I didn't really have any friends. Nobody liked me. And so I always felt like sports is a metaphor for life, and everything that I learned through Judo and MMA, I just applied to every area of my life. And I'm very lucky that I had such a productive outlet from such a young age. Show less «

One of the greatest days of my life was when I came to understand that other people's approval and m...Show more »

One of the greatest days of my life was when I came to understand that other people's approval and my happiness were not related. Show less «

[on learning from the men of The Expendables 3 (2014) cast] My dad taught me how to shoot when I was...Show more »

[on learning from the men of The Expendables 3 (2014) cast] My dad taught me how to shoot when I was six years old. My mom taught me how to fight. And I just had to rely on Sly [Sylvester Stallone] and all those other icons to kind of give me advice and mentor me through the process. Show less «

People love tough chicks. They love tough chicks that really embrace their femininity. Look at all t...Show more »

People love tough chicks. They love tough chicks that really embrace their femininity. Look at all the "Tomb Raiders" and stuff like that. Those movies are multi-million-dollar movies for a reason. If I could really be that person in real life, people are going to love it. That's what I kept thinking. "They love tough, empowered women." There is demand there. People just don't know it. Show less «

I used to have a big box of medals and I was going to put them on a frame around the room. I took al...Show more »

I used to have a big box of medals and I was going to put them on a frame around the room. I took all the ribbons off and I was going to post them, and then the cat peed in the box and my mom threw out all my medals because they were covered in cat pee. My mom just throws stuff out. She doesn't care about medals and trophies and all that stuff. It's like, "Oh my god, your mom must be so excited about it." No, not really. She threw all of it out. Show less «

I don't want every girl to have the same ambitions as me but I want them to be ambitious. I'm tired ...Show more »

I don't want every girl to have the same ambitions as me but I want them to be ambitious. I'm tired of seeing girls that shut up and have no ambition being idolized as what's attractive. Show less «

I'm more used to being booed by a crowd than I am being cheered. I have never been a fan favorite. P...Show more »

I'm more used to being booed by a crowd than I am being cheered. I have never been a fan favorite. Pretty much my entire competitive career has been defined by people hoping to see me lose. Show less «

[on being cut and edited to be portrayed as the bad girl on The Ultimate Fighter (2005)] It was what...Show more »

[on being cut and edited to be portrayed as the bad girl on The Ultimate Fighter (2005)] It was what was needed most at the time for the girls, and I was happy to play that role. I was happy to be the bad guy. Show less «